Godspeed David Hackworth

Yesterday Col. David "Hack" Hackworth, age 74, died from cancer in Mexico where he was being treated. Col. Hackworth will be remembered as a legendary figure in the United States Army and, until he died, as the most highly-decorated living soldier. But he will mostly be remembered as a lifelong champion of the average soldier, an endeavor he pursued with vigor until the end.

I first became aware of Col. Hackworth years in the early 90's when he was Newsweek magazine's Contributing Editor for defense issues. Since then I have read several of his books, all of his Defending America columns, and finally became a supporter of Soldiers for the Truth, an organization he founded to give a voice to our military personnel and veterans.

To get a measure of what he stood for, I suggest that you read some of his past columns here and here . Other people that knew Col. Hackworth well will write much more about him than I ever could. But I will say that I thought so highly of him that when my son was shipping out for Iraq, I insisted that he take this one important item with him: The Vietnam Primer by Col. David Hackworth. He agreed and he did.